Both Oars In Planes, trains, automobiles Part II

Feb 4, 2011

Due to an overlapping mixture of college interviews and work related meetings spread between Boston, Providence, West Point and Washington in a 72 hour period, my son and I had to execute a complex set of logistics involving planes, trains and automobiles during one of the Northeast’s worst winters in decades.

At one point, our itinerary involved splitting up. I have to admit that I felt some trepidation when I dropped my son at West Point for his overnight interview knowing that our successful reunion would require the on-time performance of another set of buses, trains, and planes. I also had to drive back to Providence through the snow that had started to fall during our ride up the mountain to the Academy. Nonetheless, with a tear in my eye and bit of apprehension in my gut, I left him to the care of the Army.

The plan was to meet up at Union Station after I finished my meetings in Washington and he completed his interview. For my part, I would return to Providence and fly to Washington in the morning. He would take a bus to NYC and then a train to meet me by 4:00 PM in DC, at which point we would go to the airport and rent a car to drive to see his sister at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, VA.   

I was both relieved and amazed when we were sailing down I-66 on schedule in light traffic. By 7:30 PM, we were having coffee with my much surprised daughter. Unfortunately, my son had to admit that to his little sister that, although he had navigated the route from West Point to DC successfully, he had been pick-pocketed in Grand Central Station. At 4:00 AM, short a hundred dollars and a driver’s license, but with all mission objectives accomplished, we were at Reagan National ready for our flight back to Haiti via Miami.

My mom would credit the Holy Spirit with our success. While God does love fools — and you would have to be a fool to try a travel plan like ours in January — the truly amazing US transportation system deserves credit as well.

Since what most of us remember is being stuck for hours on I-5 in bumper-to-bumper traffic or being delayed for two days in Philadelphia with no hotel or just missing the rush hour commuter train that was surely two minutes early, we are more likely to curse than to praise our amazing inter-modal transportation system. This is because painful memories outlast good ones and they also make better stories.

However, the reality is that we have little reason to complain about the transportation system in the US. I realize my view may be a bit biased by the fact that I spend a lot of time in a country with roads pocked with potlakes, not just potholes, and an international airport that has a habit of closing for days at a time due to political unrest. But, I am convinced that the US has the best overall transportation system in the world.

Our world-topping, interlinking roadway is larger than China’s — at least for now. Its grand scheme is said to have been inspired by Eisenhower’s envy of Germany’s ability to quickly transport troops on the Autobahn during WWII. Even if it was originally built with national defense in mind, our immense national road system has helped launch our economy into the number one position. It has also made it possible for going to grandmother’s house to become a national pastime.   

Thanks to the development of both regional and international airports and a plethora of ever-competing commercial airlines, which were originally established to carry the mail, there is not a city in the country that cannot be reached in a timely fashion. We may complain about delays, but no country gets planes back in the air as fast as the US, because no country has as ubiquitous coverage.

Granted we have allowed our rail system, which has been relegated largely to freight for the past 60 years, to decline too far. Hopefully, with the push of rising fuel prices and the desire to go green, we can catch a little Japan envy and grow our high-speed rail to match the quality and usability of our roadways and airways to maintain our advantage in transportation. If we do, my son will be able to do the same schedule in two days with his son!

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